Search smh:

Search in:

We're hoping Pup is ok for 4th Test: Cowan

Greg Buckle

Opener Ed Cowan has backed Shane Watson to lead Australia in the fourth Test against India starting on Friday if Michael Clarke is unfit, describing him as a very different type of leader to the incumbent.

Watson, who lacks leadership experience at Sheffield Shield level, has been at the centre of a series of controversies in the past week.

He has battled poor form, was one of four players banned from the third Test for missing a homework assignment and only just arrived back in the country after his wife gave birth to the couple's first baby in Sydney.

But Cowan said Watson was a lead-by-example type of captain who would do the job if Clarke succumbed to a back injury.

Advertisement

"He (Watson) has probably decided to come back with a full focus and we will accept him because he is such a great player and a good leader," Cowan told reporters on Wednesday.

"He is a senior player around the group and it is important those kinds of players are on board because we need those guys for this team to be the best team in the world.

"He is a very different leader to Michael but we're hoping Michael is fine for this Test.

"He (Clarke) is such a great batsman and we need his runs and his leadership."

Clarke failed to train with the team on Wednesday but he wasn't about to be ruled out just yet.

"It is a day-to-day proposition," Cowan said after training. "He's confident. Michael's expecting to play."

Cowan said the homeworkgate affair had strengthened the resolve within the team as they sought to again become the No.1 Test team in the world.

The lack of leadership experience within the side was evident in Mohali where back-up wicketkeeper Brad Haddin, 35, led the team during short periods when Clarke was off the field having treatment.

"We feel quite buoyed by the concept of moving forward together," Cowan said as the tourists aim to avoid a four-nil whitewash against India.

Cowan said he had approached Clarke, coach/selector Mickey Arthur and team manager Gavin Dovey regarding recent disciplinary lapses within the squad.

"There had been a build-up and there always comes a time where there is a breaking point and that happened in Mohali," Cowan said.

Arthur's hopes for extra leadership to return to the side fell flat on Wednesday as recently retired batsmen Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey ruled out Test comebacks.